An Altered Fate: Two Queens
by Gelasia Kidd
Summary: Aburame were mostly unknown; But in an unprecedented creation of two heirs, Shino and Shiki are nothing like standard; With a genetic and partially shared memory, Shiki "Jeshika" shares knowledge of her past life, full of stories, creations, colors, and personality. In this future the Aburame would not die out or be ignored. And Konoha would not fall. Family!7 - Theories made story
1. Prologue

A.N. (more of a preface) I'm going to flat out tell you the prologue is short, and that its a teaser. I have like half a journal of this story written out and typing it is being difficult but I should, at the least, be able to get a chapter out every other day till I run out of story. That is of course if I don't lose myself in actually writing the thing instead of copying it to file form.

I have other stories, but this is something I'm using as an antidepressant of sorts and also incredibly hard to let go, its an amazing plot and I love it! You are going to find some characters are a tad OOC: Believe me, its not going to be out of the blue in most cases, there will be reasons behind it.

The preface goes into what history builds this plot: It is a self insert, yes, and the character is going to be unpredictable. I'm quite like this as well, and it has a lot of my theories on self inserts, the Kyuubi attack, the state of the village, characters, and most of all the Aburame.

Now onto the story!: (I may get chapter 1 out today, just because this is so short. I feel a bit dissatisfied with leaving it as is.)

Preface:

The Kyuubi attack left many orphans; so why was there only one near empty orphanage in Konoha? The answer is twofold, both light and dark. The light answer is where we go from here, and the dark shall remain a secret; for now at least.

The positive note was that many of these orphans were brought into clans. The clans that required training, and techniques that were not of the kekkei-genkai type, the obvious bloodlines, were able to bring the newly orphaned children into their respective clans. On that subject, with the Shinobi war being not so far off, followed by the Kyuubi attack, many of these clans were near decimated. Adding to their ranks was not a desire, but a necessity.

For example: While it was a rarity, the excess of pups needing partners compared to the ratio of blood related Inuzuka clan members was drastically imbalanced. It had already gotten to the point, that in the case of Inuzuka Hana, she had three partners at once. But that was the absolute limit. Without their partners to share an emotional, almost soul bond with, the pups would go feral, become unable to reproduce quality ninken, and the Inuzuka clan would die out.

With the influx of orphans however, well any pup can be raised as Pack, just as over hunted wolf packs band together and adopted one anothers younglings, they will bring new blood into the clan.

As for another clan, our story begins. The Aburame had never thrived so well. Their ranks were often empty; there were not enough kikaichu hives, or children. While it was lucky they were long lived, many of the drones lasting hundreds of years of peaceful service, new blood was necessary.

The fact of the matter was, the Aburame were incapable of physical reproduction. Maybe not incapable of the act, but to the Aburame clan as a whole, it was not something that was introduced. With their genetic memory, and the queens or drone hive impressing their personalities upon their host as a young baby, they were regressed to apathy. Caring and tending the community as a whole was possible, but if it wasn't a necessity, it didn't happen. It just wasn't logical.

The Aburame thrived, and that was where we start. The Kyuubi's "killing intent" was nothing but distilled, pure, and concentrated inhuman chakra. It was not demonic or angry; if we look from the readers standpoint, how can the "demon" be angry when in utter brainwashed control? No, it was simply alien chakra that registered to the human race as a poisonous substance. But to kikaichu it was food; chakra was chakra, it was eaten neutrally whether it be nature chakra, human chakra, or even bijuu chakra.

And as the kikaichu fed, they multiplied. Capable of reproducing themselves a million times within one ninja battle, there were almost a hundred hosts worth of hives. Most, of course, drones, but after a long wait, the queen heir finally was produced, having enough food to both be born and create her own hive.

But this was the surreal part. In an overabundance of food, a rare happening was spawned; twin queens. And yet, they did not devour one another as competitive queens oft do. No, it was as if they were one queen, yet able to give separate orders and maintain separate hives. They agreed with one another and were like minded, as like minded as insect overlords(or ladies, so to speak) could be.

At first the clan was alarmed; surely, the queens, codependant, would not be able to find hosts. There had not once in the history of all their genetic memory been two heirs. And it was obvious with the mental connection these queens shared, that one would die, and the other would fail.

In canon, the slightly younger queen would sacrifice herself, willing her drones and males to become part of her sister queen's hive. In canon, Shino would be overburdened by the excess hive and have lack of chakra to feed his kikaichu. In canon, Shino, drained muchly from the battle between the four hidden villages and the psycho controlling the Juubi would be unable to pull off the kawarimi switch that would have saved his life. Without a queen to secede the drones would fail, the clan would fail, and a pillar behind Konoha would be gone.

But a higher power was unsatisfied. There existed a human that needed the Aburame as much as the Aburame needed her. And in the wake of the Kyuubi attack, a young lady with a mind sharp and full of ideas, in the form of a baby, would be slipped in with the other infants. Removed from an empty life, the girl found peace in the form of the hive that filled the hole in her soul.

This is the story of Aburame Shiki, or self named, Aburame Jeshika Kodorai.


	2. Chapter 1

A.N. WARNING: This has a vivid description of the Aburame initiation, so to speak, with the hive becoming part of a baby. It might be disturbing to some. Most of this information on the Aburame are theories, and Shino's character is going to grow up differently, because of the character inserted. This is going to be a very heavy information overload and parts may be dry but all of it is relevant.

Ch 1.

My vision was blurry as a young baby, so as I lay there, in mild confusion, I had to rely on the noise around me. The words were all foreign to me, but the tone was not. There was the classic noise of fussy infants, and the cooing adults. You could tell in their slightly tense voices that they were overburdened and stressed. It reminded me of the daycare I worked in occasionally, when they had a few too many children; in all actuality I recognized it because I'd sounded that way myself.

But now, in the position of an unassuming harmless, and in all actuality useless baby, not even yet a toddler, there was not much I could do but not fuss unnecessarily. The second reason I could tell they were overworked, was, at least from my personal experience, that each crib was doubled up with two children. I knew this from the warm body of the little boy (I think?) next to me. His heartbeat was like a flutter even when half asleep.

This was, what I would later realize, the first major alteration to whatever canon could be in this situation. Even when; and I will refer to him from now on as my brother; was lifted away from me, he refused to let go. So the man lifting him, had to lift us both.

I had begun to rely heavily on sound and touch, (although taste and smell is worthless and a hassle if all you get is stale formula and a stinky diaper most days), and the contact with his arms allowed me to feel that it was a softened canvas. I could sort of see colors, but not much, and I knew it, or so I thought, to be beige.

By now I was beginning to become hyper aware of the situation. He chuckled silently, the reverberation of it lifting his chest as he held us. That was the only way I could tell he laughed, since without sight and no audible sound it was contact that informed me.

I still didn't know where I was; there was many surreal things going on at the time. I couldn't tell how long I'd been there; I knew I was getting fed maybe once a day, which I would discover in the far future was a severe lack of supplies. The room was windowless and there was always a light on; night and day was something I was unaware of. Although with how I had been living before, it was not a huge shock to be unaware of the passage of time, and gather a skewed perception of it.

I slept when I wanted to, and patiently waited to be tended, although it was quite frustrating at my lack of ability to tend to myself. My "brother" was the only true comfort I had, when the food didn't come and my belly hurt with hunger or I was not changed for hours leading to irritated skin (and nose!).

And there was a persistent itch, no it was not quite that. It was sort of like a ache, and sort of like breathing pure oxygen after living in smog. It crawled under your skin and pooled around you and there was no escaping it.

The best I could describe it was as if being in a rip current at the beach, a gravel and shell smothered beach. It hurt a little, it felt pleasant, and it was beautiful. Sometimes it was cool,but even when it was cool sometimes a drift of warmness would come close. Much in the same way as being in water you were not sure if the warmth was natural or contamination.

When coming into contact with others, it would ripple, the reflections of you and them bouncing off it in a distorted manner. It was all this and more, in pure… energy? But it was all inside and internalized, all around you, in others, and everywhere.

So when the canvas jacket clad man picked me up and it numbed, not stopped, never stopped, but numbed, I sighed in relief, leaning against him. I had read a lot of self inserts over the years, especially Naruto ones. Most people realized where they were when they heard a name, saw a face, hokage's mountain, headband. Some felt the Kyuubi; It was always horribly obvious.

However for me.. It was when I lay against the one who held me, who would become in the future my father, with my brother, and listened to his heart beat in tune with his hive. I have heard it sounds different to different people, but this is what it was for me;

There was a steady purring, like a cat. The sound of a pencil gliding against paper, and rain on the window. A river, trickling over a shallow waterfall, a clock ticking. And directly in the heart was a bell like cricket chirp, like summer in the country, at sunset.

Yes, it was different for each person. How the baby reacted was almost always a sign of potential clan adoption; To me, it felt like home. I knew that this in the depths of my heart, and I suspected in my mind that was what was happening, but I resolutely refused to get my hopes up and jump to conclusions. But yes, it was then I knew.

I think I fell asleep to that sound, or at least it was so peaceful that I fell out of awareness. Reality didn't begin connecting until I felt a nipple from a bottle at my mouth. Excepting more formula, I was pleasantly surprised. I tasted honey, that appeared to be watered down with a sweet tree sap much like maple. I would later find out there were vitamins and pheromones that would make the "syncing" much easier.

After feeding myself and Shino, we were placed in separate cradles. The cradles were created by rotten, dry logs that had been eaten by insects into a pleasantly soft texture, almost foamy and sweet scented. These were chakra infused Mokuton logs, as well; huge branches that had fell off naturally. The rotted state muted the mokuton chakra, but cushioned our own, working much as a magnifying glass in kikaichu and Aburame identification.

All the hives were released at once, with many other orphans in other cradles. One by one, the children began crying, but the sound of buzzing near overwhelmed it, the room dark with insects. That was the last thing I ever visually saw; it should have been scary. It wasn't, somehow.

The biggest reason Aburame choose babies is because they are impressionable and can be molded and tended into the clan. The second reason, although not often mentioned, is that the kikaichu merge was supposed to cause unmentionable pain, and a young childs mind can forgive and forget much easier than anyone else of more advanced age.

And as the queen chose me, it was both the most painful thing I had ever felt, and the most fulfilling. Even with the natural sedatives in the honey we were fed, and the kikaichu excreted, the queen and her hive were the most invasive and aggressive. They had to be, to control the rest of the clan. And I knew I would never forget this moment.

I screamed, I cried, almost involuntarily; the tears stopped as they destroyed my tear ducts and my eyes were devoured, leaving a inner capsule, cocoon really, in an eye shape, of black glossy material. It was like the end of the world.. and the beginning.

For as much as it hurt, it was the hurt of having a infection cleaned, a wound mended, an organ that had been failing for so long replaced, and a cancer being gone. It was a relief, both to body and soul. Somehow the missing parts of me filled in, and my other half was returned. I wondered, but never was able to ask, if anyone else who became an Aburame felt this way… but then again, they were babies, and I had entered this relationship with a fully adult mind and comprehension.

Like childbirth, I was both the mother and the child, together myself and my hive created something new. That didn't make the pain any less, or the struggle any easier, but as it continued the sobs were no longer pain, but relief.

And suddenly I was aware in a way I had never thought possible. Hundreds of children around me.. and my brother. Shino and I never shared this moment with our father, but our mind were as linked as two psychic twins could be. He couldn't understand everything I felt and thought, but we understood each others feelings. And while most Aburame are dull and flavorless due to the genetic memory of the kikaichu overiding the babies base personality, I was myself still. I compromised, and mellowed, but I had my color and imagination and feelings, and essentially converted my hive. And because of that, Shino was colorful and bright in a way most Aburame could never even in their minds be.

And the kikaichu had given me so much. They had taken away my sight; I could no longer see them anymore.. but I could feel them in a way I'd never be able to explain to you. Finally whole, myself, and not alone, I was given everything. And so my first communication in the Aburame fashion was to my hive. 'Thank you,' I told them with all my heart, tender yet exuberant. The entire clan overheard it, but only my father understood.

I would wonder, especially in the far future, why Shibi, my father, never questioned me about that. His answer was thus; He knew the queen wouldn't have chosen me if I hadn't been the right decision. And so his trust was thus as well.

So I enjoyed my short childhood, and while he couldn't feel like I do in many ways, my twin and I were precious to him. Hatchlings and loved. Even despite my inability to fade into the background like the Aburame of past, he simply likened it to both a butterfly or bee, attracted to a bright flower, yet bright itself, warning away predators: I'm poisonous.. I'm venomous. Don't touch!

He was only mildly surprised when my kikaichu actually evolved to become venomous.

When I was approximately four years old, along with my brother, we began our training. Our training was more a mix of natural chemical exposure and meditation to discover, sort, and compartualize our minds, unlocking our genetic memory one at a time so to not overload. This was not, as you might assume, a mental overload. The kikaichu greatly assist in mental development and hundreds of years of memories was not a hardship for us to learn.

But our bodies had to train to keep up with our minds, and condition itself to respond correctly. Releasing mental restraints on this list of memories one at a time was simply prudence; giving yourself a task list too long will stress even the logical and calm Aburame, which Shino and I failed that from the very start.

I suppose it was sort of like Occulmancy, in the form of a honey comb. Each hollow comb was walled in, labeled with pheromones, (that could pass just about any message on, actually), and sealed shut with wax and syrup, so to speak. On the basis of usual combs, it was a sorting method for yourself, not others access. (Unless, however, you were a Yamanaka and felt like being sticky!)

But with Shino and I, we both had "back door keys" to each others mind. And while my memories were jumbled enough that Shino was curious and for the most part didn't touch, he had sometimes run into a bad memory that would give him a scare. So the first step I took wasn't unlocking my genetic memory. I went into a mild coma, sorting my mind, for almost a year, where only Shino could communicate with me.

My kikaichu kept me healthy, by feeding from a bed of mokuton wood, traded out every day, and injecting me with vitamins. This set me back greatly, but only just; it was decided that I would not enter the academy with him. It was necessary for me to catch up physically.

While I did wake up a year later, Shino had been viewing my memories as I sort them, at night. Sometimes it was simple as an idea, a story, even the memory of playing a game. I had whole series of manga perfectly recorded in my head for him to see. Other times it was something that had hurt me in reality, and while I'd try to warn him off, he was persistant and it was like playing keep away, with excuse the joke, a hundred Naruto Kage-bushin.

When we reached the topic of Naruto, between the canon manga, canon anime, split offs, fanfiction, and fan art, we couldn't be sure. Was this canon Naruto we were in? Was this one of those whacked out split offs where everything we knew was wrong? Admittedly, some information was better than none; even if some points were wrong, if the characters were essentially the same we could predict some of the actions of individuals. In fact with a genetic memory we could tell that the past was consistant, at least. Certain key points did happen.

But that still disallowed for surety. What if it was different? We could go to the Hokage and spill out everything. If we were right, the most we could hope for was Yamanaka time. At the worst, in this infiltrated Konoha was not Ibiki and Anko time; no. It was Orochimaru and Danzo time. I knew in canon Danzo had an Aburame root member; What it would take to break a person with a genetic memory and brainwash them was appalling to evc memory and brainwash them was too appalling to consider.

And if we weren't? The clan would be doomed to fail; two insane heirs locked up and the current queen with no ability to continue the line. Insanity was highly frowned upon, especially when it came to delusional insanity in leading positions.

And so we decided we would hoard the knowledge to ourselves and use it judiciously.

The curious thing was, in regards to the genetic memory, Queens passed down to queens, drones to drones. While I was capable of sharing with a drone if I desired, if was considered a novelty more than a fact of life. It wasn't entirely like the Hyuuga clan, but there was a main clan branch and then the servant caste. Don't judge us for this; its as culturally different, and mentally different, as bird trying to convince a shark to fly. The bird lives with flying in its heart and the shark lives with the deeps the bird will never see in theirs.

While there were personalities, namely Shino and myself, outside the clan structure, it was a community, a dictator with a loyal heart to her people, overrulling those that serve her. The drones were long lived, and essentially led civilian lives, farming the land we tended in the forest, tending the bees and maintaining the estate.

There was a slim soldier caste; most never got past chunin rank, and never desired to. Those that did were field promoted via pure situational circumstance.

But with that genetic memory, already I was changing, restructuring what Aburame were capable of. Not only would all my memories be passed down to future Aburame, Shino already had full access. I was passing worthwhile skill memories and even some of my favorite stories to the kind youngling drones that were adopted around the same time as me, and so their children would remember those as well.

And all of this was on total accident, simply being myself. My father would never be able to see these memories; he was of a previous generation, and the memories were always meant to go forward. But I could tell he was pleased of the flexibility and evolving of the capabilities, at least in the way of functionality.

The biggest change that was obvious to me in my life span so far, merely months before academy was going beginning to start, was Shino's internalized self loathing at the bland forgettable person he became in canon. He wasn't the same as me, as always gravitating to bright colors. While he absorbed some of my habits and personality, his core was largely pure Aburame. But he didn't want to be the bland flavorless clone that most Aburame were.

So began our journey in cosplay, much to the mild amusement of our father. (He wasn't incapable of humor, in truth, just difficult to get him to express, and muted by the alien mind of the kikaichu. Much of the ways of a Vulcan, they were very literally and logical. But not totally incapable of reaching past that… if they found it necessary and essential to do so. Yet, sometimes to promote harmony in a community sometimes compromise is necessary indeed.)

Aburame were oft neglected in mention to the founding of Konoha; in all actuality they were one of the biggest pillars, if not the largest. Not only did they provide the natural herbs and chemicals besides the ground Nara deer antlers used in many Konoha medicines, but they were a incredibly successful merchant group, if only recognized privately.

The drones that maintained the fields that grew the crops did so with genetic memory that was able to predict seasons, sell rates, and even the reactions of consumers. They also did so with kikaichu that could perfectly anticipate the ever need and desire a plant would crave to be successful. And needless to say, they didn't have a pest problem, even if they tried! (Which, you know, they wouldn't. Because its not logical. Yea. I went there.)

But yes, these vegetables, fruits, and grains were grown with the ideal nutrients needed to subsist on if you were an Aburame. Not only that, they were flawless, and amazingly (and to those with a example outside it) euphorically delicious.

First we had the top crop, which was the Queen standard. This went only to the main branch, which consisted of myself, my brother, and my father. The leftovers went into the juices and ingredients that were preserved for the future; It was not uncommon, however, to reward a drone with a selection of Queen standard, or have them apply for a special occasion. If there was excess, we would grant it, but not very much. For while it sounds cruel, it was another necessity. It was rich to the point they could and would get sick in over-indulgence. To their bodies it was like over taking potent vitamins.

And then there was the Drone standard. The Drone standard was of slightly less quality, and while all the positive parts were dimmed, the vitamins were as well. It had exactly the right form to feed the drones bodies perfectly.

The last was purely throw away, it was the reject crop and produce. It was, however, so high in quality that royalty and top of the line restaurants fought over the batches; there was simply no comparison.

The honey we created was top of the line, the fruit, vegetables and grains were, even in the reject pile, higher quality than anything else earthly produced, the medicinal products we produced were better than any knock off; Heck, in training alone, that consisted of sucking chakra out of water (along with the heat) evenly, the ice we created, even flawed, was coveted in great demand (being that technology was not advanced enough for everyone to have a freezer), and the perfect ice was fought over for being as clear as glass, for sculpture work.

I could get into the silk productions, the oils we distilled, the tree based syrups we produced, but I won't. But it was almost like the ant preparing for a winter that would never come; there was always more than needed, and the everyday Aburame had no desire for material possessions outside necessity.

I have, and have always been, one that could not stand idly hands and boredom. And my memories evolved my kikaichu, and Shino was my counterpoint, my straight man. But while he had, essentially, the mind of an adult, he was a blank slate. And he didn't want to be.

We learned quickly that our senses see colors differently than anyone else; it wasn't just mildness and the need to fade into the background that caused the Aburame to choose neutral earthy beige colors and blacks. That didn't stop us from trying.

Camo was okay; But Shino wanted to act Colonello and it was too exuberant for him to keep up. It was a relief when he stopped trying to figure out how to turn his kikaichu into a gun and stopped saying kora at the end of every sentence. It was just too much!

We rotated through several things, before Shino decided what he wanted to convey, and how he was going to convey it. It took almost a month for his hair to be straight and long enough to pin it back in clasps. Its true! Despite all we may have thought, Shino had straight hair; he was simply too apathetic to straighten out his persistent bed head and it got obnoxiously worse! He did NOT have an afro! (Are you surprised?)

But after he pinned it into even rows with white clasps and pulled on a black hakama with a white silk scarf I still wanted to faceplant. Sure, he was still wearing his sunglasses; Everything else was obvious. Kuchiki Byakuya? Really? Well, it was sort of a midway character between emotional and stoic; I could see why he decided that. (It of course, wouldn't be till much later and both of us hit puberty that the whole "younger adopted sister has the appearance of your wife and true love thing" made it awkward..)

By the time Shino was ready to head off to the Academy, or, that is, had to go for appearance sake, ready or not, we had had a full childhood, (for yes, with an enhanced mind time does past differently for you, especially when reviewing memories), he had become secure in himself, as an individual and not part of a hive-like clan community, and not only a twin of myself. He was himself.

And with that self confidence and the maturity of an adult we reviewed the memories one last time and came to an agreement. It was a difficult choice for myself, but if this was indeed canon Naruto there was simply no other way. Sakura might have become a valued member of team seven, but she was an incredibly influential person and near useless in very vital moments to the team early on.

If I were to want to do good, for the Clan, for Konoha, for this world, and most of all for the people I cared for despite having never met them.. if this was canon, Sakura would have to go. I would replace her; there was simply no other choice. Her pathetic attempts of Academy, reluctantly trained Taijutsu would lose her place as top kunoichi. I could already pass the exams in mental and jutsu abilities; Taijutsu was something that pure determination led me as a driving force to learn.

My father didn't even blink when I told him of my desire to train in Taijutsu further, although his brows ever so slightly raised at the reason: To become top kunoichi of my age group. The Aburame were always conditioned to fall into the background, it was the more natural state for them.

But he knew, and I knew, that the Aburame never did anything outside of necessity. Even the other novelties and colors were all for self assurance and stability. This was probably why that even with an access to endless funds, we were low budget spenders. It just didn't matter to us; we didn't need endless material possessions. What we had was either a necessity in physical needs, clan needs, or in the case of Shino and I, coping methods to our rapidly evolving kikaichu and mish mash of memories.


	3. Chapter 2

A.N. Its strange how such a small scene can turn into such a long chapter when you add dialogue and emotions. w Internet kept crashing and it took some effort to get this chapter up. ;w; Hope you like!\

Ch. 2

As my first day of Academy began to draw near, I began working towards the image I wanted to convey. This was all coping methods that women oft used; for some girls, they put on their "war paint" makeup, and for others they picked out the best clothes. It was something Shino thought was silly, but the prep was soothing.

Although the kikaichu altered us genetically down to the "Aburame" form (ergo all of us had the same skin tone, hair color, and reasonably tall stature) so I had dark brown, nearly black hair, and pale alabaster skin. Sunglasses secretly bugged (aha pun!) the heck out of me, so I figured, well, sleep eye masks were essentially a two-eye eyepatch, right?

Commissioned a ninja-clothes tailor to create a furisode top in aqua blue with orange and red tropical flowers embroidered into it in a pattern. The sleeves just above the elbow and below the breast (what I had of them, at 13, which was not all that much!) flared loosely in a typical kimono like way. The tie below the bust was a red sash with a large charm/ bead that was in the shape of an insect with wings that were shaped like Konoha leaf symbols.

I had my hair done up like Anko's, and a large hibiscus that I had crafted was at the base of it, connected to the clasp that held it together. The eye mask I wore was pure black with anime emote "Shing~" star-diamonds. It was entertaining to me, so despite the fact it was absolutely ridiculous it was a statement piece for me.

With comfortable baggy black pants that narrowed to bandaged ankles with the classic shinobi sandals (A dull compromise necessary to the career choice, of course) I couldn't tell you which new student made a bigger entrance: Uzumaki Naruto, or myself, Aburame "Jeshika" Shiki.

Iruka-sensei led us into the classroom, before leaving to finish the paperwork of my late enrollment. (Which was as a clan heir "prodigy" pretty extensive.) That left us, the class, and Mizuki (whom I refuse to acknowledge as a sensei!).

"Yo!" I said, saluting cheerfully. "My name is Aburame Shiki!" I smirked at the class cockily as I said this is a heartily cheerful voice. "Please call me Jeshi! If ya don't, you'll find out where the shi part comes in!" I winked to let them know I was joking, bowing with a flamboyant, disrespectful, but friendly and open flourish.

And as if to beat me in utter enthusiasm and disregard, Naruto burst forward in front of me in cheerful glee.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, 'bayo!" he nearly yelled to the class. "I'm gonna be the Hokage, believe it!"

There was a long moment of silence, before the class burst into cruelly mocking laughter. Shino and I exchanged knowing looks, before my chakra tightened in purpose. He nodded slightly in agreement to my impromptu plan.

The laughter went on for a minute, Naruto growing more and more slumped in exaggerated but justified depression. It was time to put a stop to this, I thought, as I lifted two fingers to my lips and whistled. This was a whistle I had practice that could be heard a mile away, and make Inuzuka's ears hurt. I had originally created it as a panic button so to speak, but this situation qualified as necessity.

"What in the nine circles of hell is wrong with you people?! I don't know about ya'll but I'm with the kid here. I don't doubt his ability to go far, with that sort of drive to succeed!" I said, a confidant and sharp smirk on my face.

"Heard 'bout his talents, and the kid's got more creativity in his little finger than ya'll got in your whole body; Don't hear nothin' about any of ya'll trapping the ANBU headquarters and then evading them all day!" I snapped out. "And for 'nother thing I'd rather be friends with a kind and honest kid than a bunch of brats that have nothin' better to do than laugh at a hopeful orphan's dreams!"

Shino stood, parting from what I became aware of as his fangirls (ahaha Shi-kun has fannngiiirls.. I would later tease), a icy gaze flashing across them. You didn't have to see his eyes to see the cold visage judging your value and finding you lacking.

"This one agrees," he said in a biting but blank voice, inordinately loud. Yikes! I realized. Forget about Kuchiki Byakuya, he was pissed! Full out Sesshoumaru in a fury!

But I understood; it was one thing to know about the casual ill treatment of the vibrant child; and an entirely different thing to see it in action and treated like it was totally okay. I was just as furious; That Naruto had been exposed to this his whole life with very little positive reinforcement was unimaginable.

His fangirls fell into weak pallor as they realized how their idol was considering them; I wouldn't say lower than a bug, as we are Aburame, but lower then the vilest vermin to exist.

"This one judges you all without virtue, honor, or dignity," he intoned disgustingly. "You are all without moral value, and should be ashamed."

With Iruka gone, and Mizuki at the head of the class, the result was the three of us being kicked out. The students would feel justified, and no wonder; With an adult in position of authority visibly approving, if not audibly from the way he was praising the class, it was like the world was telling them it was an appropriate course of action.

My nose wrinkled at the thought of an entire generation, ruined of good qualities. She knew that the ones that would become the Konoha rookie 9 wouldn't be so appalling, but that was going to take a lot of time.

Right now, we were the bad guys; and, as I saw Naruto beaming at the both of us, I decided that was okay. Do what is right, not what is easy, ne? I could clammer from the approval of the class all I want, but I'd never be able to forgive myself if I hadn't intervened.

Shino and I already knew the lesson by heart, times a hundred, with the genetic memories past down to us. We also knew that Naruto was a kinetic learner, and that the teachers oft sabotaged him. In silent agreement in that hallway we decided to help Naruto, build him up from scratch ability wise. It wasn't going to stop the sabotage but..

So we began to develop, in that empty hallway, what was a mentor/student relationship. Shino would quote the textbook word by word, and I, through metaphor and relatable terms, would break it down into something Naruto would understand.

Then we would put it into practice; that was originally going to be a problem, when the tools were all in the classroom or locked up. But my kikaichu had evolved greatly; when merging with a host, normally the hive would overlay its personality onto the host. In my case, my developed mind overlayed onto the hive. It was still a hive, still insect, but had gained a level of sentience far beyond Aburame norm. It couldn't communicate in a human manner, no, but through impressions and images and brain signals it could communicate to me.

It did that now; having predicted my desires on the matter, and almost pre cognitively understanding my need before I even realized it, a pill sized empty silk cocoon fell into my hands. It was mostly off white, and in tiny black threads, a storage seal lay.

Suddenly I realized what it had done; scattered almost invisibly along my body and clothing were these storage capsules, with tools and necessities; even some emergency survival ware.

"Huh," I said in a pleased but surprised voice. "Thanks!" Naruto's eyes widened comically before narrowing suspiciously and looking around for whoever I thanked. Finding nothing, he turned curious eyes on me, intent. "Who ya talkin' to, dattebayo?" he asked with a parody of an "inside voice", hushed but forced.

"Aaa," I said in embarrassment. If I physically could have, I would have blushed. "My hive," I admitted. "I'm not used to being outside the clan compound and I always talk to my hive out loud, cuz everyone there is so quiet it would drive you crazy."

I lifted my hand, a finger outstretched, and a single one of my reflective quicksilver opal beetles crawled onto my finger. This species at designed itself as a distraction species; With its multi facet prism back, it could come off colored or like metal. In the heat of a ninja battle, a flash of metallic mass coming at you from the corner of your eyes would throw you hugely off balance and possibly turn the battle.

It wasn't a genjutsu, which many could sense and disrupt; They held little to no chakra in their bodies. And when in full sight could scatter, becoming near invisible. The beetles, no matter how harmless, would register was a threat visually.

It was my secret trump card, and Shino knew what I really was saying by showing Naruto this insect. The hidden message Naruto would get, eventually. Maybe not for a long time, but he would eventually understand. It was simply "I trust you".

"Ooo shiny!" Naruto cried, the sparkly insect captivating him. "Where do they come from?!"

Shino knew I was worried of him judging me, so redirected attention to himself by speaking clearly. "The Aburame tribe contain insect colonies inside their bodies," he said in a neutral voice.

Like I had feared, Naruto took a split second to consider this, and then his face scrunched up in disgust. "Ehh?!" I was ready to lose his friendship at this point, but as he always did, he proved he was the most unpredictable ninja of his time. The tenseness faded, and a surprising solemn and clever sharpness entered his eyes as he looked at the beetle and then my worried but friendly smile.

Somehow he read the pain in my visage, though I tried to hide it. He took a long look at the beetle again, and his eyes grew a bit wet with his own inner sorrow. When Naruto next spoke, it was in an unsteady warble. "Sorta like haven' a bunch of friends'n'family that will never leave ya, huh?"

"Aah.." I said, agreeing. "Very similar. Sorta like that and sorta like being empty, and so sick a long long time but not knowing it till its better." Shino's attention focused on me. I had felt it, and he knew it, but I had never never said it out loud.

Naruto knew he was part of a private moment here, but this time, the moment included him. I lowered the finger to his shoulder and allowed the kikaichu to crawl onto the orange fabric, the reflective back radiating the orange in an almost chameleon way.

"Well, now you have a friend that will never leave you," I declared. This particular species were not bred to be disposed of, and as long as there was a ready chakra source; and Naruto would never ever notice the drain, as minuscule as it was; it could live indefinitely.

Naruto's eyes flit between the beetle and then to my face with a question in his eyes that years of hurt had conditioned him not to voice.

"As long as that little beetle is with you, as long as you let it stay with you, I will always be able to hear you, no matter the distance. I can't respond, but know I'll always listen, and we can talk later about whatever," I said. "I promise I'll always stay with you, as long as you'll have me."

I leaned forward, and gently touched my head to his in a personal gesture, and said softly; "You don't have to be alone anymore, m'kay?" Shino watched protectively as Naruto burst into silent tears, tears of sorrow of a lifetime, joy and hope. With Shino, standing, guarding our backs, I held Naruto as he wept, the toxicity of pain that felt like forever, pain so deep his very chakra had been poisoned, was washed clean.

And an hour later, that was how Iruka-sensei found us, with Shino protectively standing in front of Naruto and myself, and Naruto, wash awash with tear tracks, half asleep in my lap as I pet his hair. A short discussion was had between Shino and Iruka; What the class had done, and how Mizuki had handled it, slanted to be sympathetic to Naruto.

And as Iruka-sensei grew stiffer stiffer with indignation, connecting the hurt tear stained face with not a demon, but mistreated orphan, for the first time ever, I knew that we had won his loyalty. We stayed in the hall, but even the silencing seals could not prevent Iruka-sensei's chakra enhanced rage and wrath as he tore into Mizuki.

In our time in the Academy, the children only mocked out of Iruka-sensei's sight, and Mizuki never tried anything less than jounin subtle again.

Between Iruka-sensei and ourselves, we managed to get the base of Academy teaching down; Frankly, Iruka-sensei was horrified that Naruto was never even taught to read; everything he learned was self taught and pure necessity. So Iruka-sensei taught Naruto the things Primary Education neglected, and how to take care of himself.

He didn't allow himself to be more than an older brother figure and teacher; Although you could tell he desperately wanted to just scoop the chibi loving child up and run off with him. Naruto's loyalty was to the Hokage, who had molded Naruto into a loyalty to the village. Iruka-sensei's loyalty was with Naruto, and despite the distaste like ashes in his mouth to what the village had devolved to, he would always stick with Naruto.

Really, Iruka-sensei because Iruka-nii in private, to all of us. But even Iruka wasn't aware of Naruto's inner genius; with Mizuki slipping genjustu onto every test and lesson, Naruto's trouble reading, after learning late in life, and Naruto's pure loathing to tests and sitting still, the Academy was stagnate for him.

This came out with lessons with Shino and I. And it was practicing with Naruto that I finally refined my taijutsu into something that would take kunoichi of the year at the end of this year of Academy. I was ready.


	4. Chapter 3

A.N. This chapter is going to be short, but its an emotionally overwhelming chapter for me, and so I want to post it separately, to give myself a bit to recover for the next chapter; I'm going to need to harden my heart for the exposed hurts there. I'll type it out, and post it tomorrow. If anyone can't understand the ANBU hand sign conversation, I'll summarize it at the bottom.

Ch 3:

Naruto slunk in, surprisingly discreet. He responded to the snippy comment from Shikamaru, (and it was obvious the lazy Nara was fishing for information), but slipped into the seat Shino and I always left between us. It had been that way forever, us attempting to act as a buffer.

With Naruto next to me, trying to be relaxed, we waited for teams to be called. I could tell something was bugging Naruto, but while he watched in an observant manner, he didn't say a thing.

Iruka-sensei came in, moving in a way that I could tell he was still tender. Without a overabundance of medicnin, only the vitally important things would be healed, I knew. That didn't mean that all the cuts were healed, and anesthetic was largely unknown to this place, and always reserved for important civilians. (Ninja were dangerous when drunk, let alone loopy. It was not something they did often, drinking, desiring their senses to stay clear.)

As he list off name after name in their group, I cross my toes and fingers. Naruto stayed dead last, due to sabotage and pure disregard to tests. I didn't like how those words tasted "dead last". They were bitter and wrong, applied to his sunny face.

"..and for Team Seven, we have Aburame Shiki, Uzumaki Naruto.." at this Naruto leapt up and cheered happily. Iruka continued with little to no pause; "And Uchiha Sasuke." I grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him down with a warning shake to my head.

Most jounin sensei were in the hall, and so gathered their potential genin almost immediately. Well, not immediately, really. One at a time, they'd come in and gather their students. So Naruto took the time to flick his fingers is aggravated Anbu signs.

Here I must elaborate; ANBU signs were more like specific key words that you had to know the person to be able to make the mental connection, and create a phrase. This is why no one could just memorize the code and immediately spy on others conversations. This is also why ANBU were even outside the mask, so close. It was a level of personal contact that was necessary to function as a cohesive and trustworthy unit.

This same issue is why ROOT agents had a short life span and were quickly replaced, and why in canon, Sai, a new agent, had gotten a valuable position in team seven; there was simply no one else with the mental flexibility, skills, and age range to fit. And he was no where close to compatible. This is why when Naruto penetrated his shell he cracked so totally, and was reformed into a person and not a automated machine. (This was something I was actually concerned about deeply. If I had my way, Sasuke would not leave, and if Sasuke doesn't leave, Sai would never escape.)

So I watched Naruto's hands as he conveyed his frustration. "-Why Stop Punishment Fire-Jutsu Clan-" he aggravatedly asked.

"-Team Promote Unity ; Division Promote Disaster-" I signed. I gave a hold on gesture as I thought. "-Three Injured ; Three Team Unity Whole ; Heart Wound Healed- " And Naruto fell into solemn contemplation.

Hesitantly, he changed the subject to what had really bothering him. I had indeed always stayed with him, at least my silver kikaichu had. I had overheard Mizuki rant at Naruto, and his eyes were full of fear as he signed.

"-Knowledge Storage-Seal Negative Chakra Inside - Unity Continued ? Clan Comrade Unity Forever?-" His eyes asked me not to reject him, and a sad smile crossed my face.

"-Obtained Knowledge At Time-" at this I flicked my fingers in a confused manner before continuing. "-Forever-" I finally stated. "-Forever Unity Start At Forever End at Forever-"

His brow furrowed as he looked at me, both full of hope and hurt. "-Knowledge Forever - Not Delivered - Wound Heart-" and his fingers twisted in the manner at each end that made it questioning. I sighed and slumped.

"-Knowledge Delivered Team Clan Comrade Target Equal Death Wound - Hokage Law Rule Warning-" His eyes lit in comprehension, and the hurt faded as I mouthed. "I'm sorry." "-Death Me Clan Empty Heart Wound Comrade Target-"

A subtle cough brought attention to the last person in the room; Sasuke had been watching us with irritation on his face. He knew, by the expressions on our faces, we'd been communicating, but unable to see our hands, not how.

So I stood, gently tugging Naruto over to the young man who was attempting to disguise his sulk. I knew we had to connect as a team, and that I was going to have the be the glue that united it. It was time to take the emotional plunge.

A.N. Basically, Naruto asks why he was stopped from harassing Sasuke, followed by a short discussion on the kyuubi being sealed inside him, and if I am going to abandon him. I told him I had known forever, as long as I've been born, and that I would not leave him ever. He did not understand why I had not told him; And so I wearily told him that the Hokage's law was absolute; it would be too easy to be caught out telling him. With that heartened knowledge the rest of the story begins, in the following chapter.


	5. Chapter 4

_**A.N. Okay, okay. I admit this is a much delayed partial chapter. But I was having some serious problems with my computer and its finally starting to work. Also after 3 days straight of hand writing with poor motor skills I couldn't bend my fingers.**_

_**I still have around 70 pages to type out too auuh. And only into wave. -weep-**_

_**Thank you! Especially my anon reviewers; I wish I could talk to yoooou but you weren't logged innnnn. Wahh. -hugs them-**_

_**People say it all the time, but reviews are love; I cope better with visible support instead of just follows'n'stuff**_

Ch 4.

"Okay, okay," I said, in a friendly and open manner, tugging a sullen Naruto (At having to "play nice" with his worst enemy so to speak) behind me. I pushed him gently into the chair, and used to me being the mentor and role of authority, and also respecting me greatly, he sat down next to Sasuke with no resistance. (I had decided not to sit them across from each other; They would start a glaring contest that would never end!)

Slipping down backwards into the seat across the table, my arms crossed as they lay on the back of the chair, I gave both a long look and nodded.

"Lemme tell you what I know about our sensei that I've been able to compile so far; that is relevant to the situation, at least," I started.

Sasuke snorted mockingly. "Like what could you know? He was just assigned to us today!"

Naruto made to rise. "Teme-"

"Naruto!" I snapped sharply. He knew this was the tone I used when I meant business, and sat down stock still.

A sneer crossed Sasuke's face. "Seems like she's got you whipped, dobe," Sasuke taughted. Naruto vibrated in repressed anger, but refused to respond; although you could tell he wanted to.

My hive because to buzz in reaction to my anger; so much that it was audible to both. "Sasuke," I said, in a terse voice. As the buzzing grew louder his face bleached in pallor. I was standing at this point, the chair having fallen noisily against the table.

I allowed the snarl to fade from my lips; instead they pursed in frustration, and then relaxed to a bitter, sad grin, tight and closed mouth.

"Sasuke no baka," I muttered under my breath. I faced him squarely. "Just because you have a stick so far up your ass that you might as well be a unicorn.." He stiffened in shock and anger, while Naruto mentally memorized this.

I raised my hand to gain their attention, and pulled the chair back up, sitting down.

"You suffered a tragedy of epic proportions," I finally said softly. "And no one can take that fact away from you." But I rubbed the bridge of my nose, considering the next words. Sasuke was silent and still; this was both shock, and anticipation. He wanted to know what I was saying, thinking; if he broke my train of thought he would not be able to find out.

"You were not the only one to suffer.. especially in our class, myself included," I said tightly. Naruto dropped his gaze to the floor in flashbacks; Sasuke was not unaware of this, but still in denial he said nothing. A moment of memory ridden silence passed, before I started again.

"But unlike the majority of them, you were not treated with kindness or compassion. That was something you truly deserved. No, you were smothered in false sympathy, pity, comparisons, obligation, and partially artificial praise." My lips turned down in true sadness. "Frankly, you have been abused in this way, as much as being beaten or neglected; From a young child, people saw you as an ideal and a name, not a person. You were "The Last Uchiha".. you deserved to be "Sasuke"."

Naruto's eyes shot up in startlement as he pulled himself out of his moment of hurt reminiscence. That sharply keen look that had so often entered his eyes, appeared there now, as he quickly processed and evaluated.

Sasuke had a shattered look at being so honestly confronted with this. He had never been so appraised; everyone had inflated him, and tried to harass him into an ideal. No one dare say anything negative to him; in fact lies were all he knew for years.

"I may have not approached you this year, due to the fangirls," I admitted reluctantly. "There are some children of influential people; and with Naruto being my friend, it was unfortunately a political nightmare to not respond to them most days. That didn't," and my voice grew soft. "Mean I didn't want to."

I looked off into the distance, so to speak, as I turned my face to the window. "I think.. we may have to hold off on that conversation about Hatake-sensei," I said, partially to myself. I turned to face them again. "Maybe after we meet him?" I nodded and quickly tacked on the last bit. "No battle survives first contact; Until we can see him and judge his character in person, the data would lead to assumptions that may lead us astray."

Sasuke nodded in a stiff manner, once, incredibly tense, and Naruto knew to trust my judgement in this. My smile turned cheery for a bit.

"We also need to eat lunch; I packed bentos for both of us," I commented. Naruto looked elated and again vibrated with the urge to shout out and jump around exaggeratedly. And then quirking my lip in worried contemplation I reached the base of the matter.

"But before that, I think we'll have to find some sort of common ground in which to connect on; we are stuck with each other for long time and virtual strangers. Its important to us to be able to understand each other to a degree," I said, watching them carefully for reaction.

Naruto and Sasuke obviously didn't want to agree that they had to understand each other; they were, unfortunately pre-teen boys, and rivals. Stifling emotions was something most guys did; in these two it was a matter of that they had to, to make it through the villagers harassment.

But despite the reluctance, the agreement was there. Naruto would listen to me regardless, and Sasuke was in too much shock to argue at this point. It was time, hopefully, to purse long hidden wounds.

"I propose this: We will say one nice thing (or kind thing, I added) about each other, based on what we know, one well thought negative thing or critique (but in a way that helps us improve as people! I insisted), and one secret; something that wouldn't destroy us being overheard," and at this I glance around hesitantly. "Not that we are, but you never really know in a hidden village," I continued. "But that secret we would only want someone close to us to know, each of us, to connect us in a bond of trust."

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other warily; the distrust was obvious in their features. I sighed, and something about the heaviness and slight pain in my voice caught Naruto's attention, which further brought Sasuke into noticing.

"I'll start then," I decided. It was time to step up to the plate.


	6. Chapter 5

**_A.N. Another short chapter. Shortest to date ;w; I've been drifting between various projects and unable to stick with any for long. x: Hope this helps you guys mood._**

Ch 5:

"I'll start with the sour," I said, turning to look directly at Naruto. He stiffened, but showed no other sign of nervousness. "I find the biggest flaw that you have is that you don't put enough mental thought and planning into the things you do, with the exception of pranks. Even the really important stuff, especially to you, you don't think through and contemplate."

"But-!" Naruto cried in exaggerated display.

"No!" I denied sharply. "I bet you didn't even see the real usage behind the Kage no Bushin; one that only you could do! Using it for days on end, but never put any real thought into it."

Naruto took a comedic thinking pose, a confused look on his face, while Sasuke only looked on in rapt attention he tried to pretend was nonchalance.

"I'll tell you later," I continued. "But in the same regards, you want to be Hokage, but did you once ever ask Sarutobi-sama why he decided to become Hokage, or even the obligations and daily workload was?" I shook my head and smiled at Naruto. "With your detestment to tests and homework, you'd love paperwork." Naruto smiled back at me, even though his mind was obviously deep in thought.

"The sweet note," I started, and Naruto perked up. "Is probably that you are the most amazing on the spot strategist. I know, especially in high adrenaline situations, you are great at pulling yourself out of a tight spot. You can get incredibly as creative as gell, and never give up." Naruto was beaming at this point.

It was time to move on to Sasuke, and I turned to look at him directly. He stiffened himself, but in anticipation. It was obvious he wanted to know what he was really considered as, if people had truly been lying to him all this time. It was time to lay it out straight.

"Sasuke," I started. "The sour note." And with mild dread I began speaking.


	7. Chapter 6

**A.N. This is another small chapter. I appreciate silversun XD for helping me with the proofing and encouragement. ;w; Been trying to figure out meds and distracted by crafts QwQ Review please?**

Ch 6:

"You're really going to hate this," I started slowly. "At least before you think about it." My eyes darkened in the years of reflection and thought I had put into this. Ever since I realized that without my genetic memories I couldn't change the past, especially the Uchiha massacre. And even with, I was essentially a child in physical ability, even now.

"You spent so much time chasing your enemies shadow, that you began to lose yourself. You don't see you are following the same dark path he started. And as long as you are chasing him, behind him, following him.. you will always be second. Always number two behind the demons you chase," I began the elaborate lay out of my thoughts, trying to keep on topic despite Sasuke's black glare.

"But there is a hope, in all this; You don't see it, but if you can take a different route entirely, you may not be able to catch up in his path, but double in ability in something he never took the opportunity to pursue. If you can evolve past your enemy into something new, he is defeatable. However by emulating him, you are dedicating yourself to a path that will create a monster as horrible if not worse than he ever was," I continued. Sasuke blanched, not noticeable in expression but very visible in the horrified pallor in his skin. Now to give him hope.

"Focus on skills he never honed, think, act differently.." and I turned a fond smile on him. "Be your own person; it is okay." Sasuke's anger and upset faded to an inner contemplation. I let him think about this for a long moment before striking the final blow. "And lastly, we are ninja; there is half a dozen and another if not more reasons behind anything we do. Don't take anything at face value. Face value, not looking at the depths of things, is for civilians, the ignorant, and the dumb."

I knew that this was going to cause him to reflect endlessly. I couldn't control what person he turned into, no. I couldn't tell him about the truth of the massacre, I couldn't restructure him.

But even allowing himself outside the box he had confined himself in was an amazing progress for someone who had shut himself in and locked it. I simply opened the door. It was his turn to come out.


	8. Chapter 7

_**A.N. Sorry for the delays, everyone! Between getting ready to move and getting ready for the con, and frankly lack of drive, its been awhile since I could calm down enough to type. This chapter is short, yes, but hopefully it will make you feel better.**_

**Ch 7. **

My attention fell to my hands, as they rested on the desk. Slightly trembling, I clenched my hands, to stop it. This was not a usual thing to happen to me, as control over myself and my actions, even unconscious was something that the Aburame highly endorsed. Even the action of "looking" at something was conditioned into us. It would be ill advised of us to disturb our teammates with obvious notice of our physical lack of eyesight.

This gesture was not missed by the intent gaze of the boys in front of me. It was only a second, and their gaze flickered from my hands to my face as I turned it in their direction. I took a deep breath, and let it out gustily in a sigh.

"My biggest secret is probably that I can see bits and pieces of possible futures. I don't know what is going to happen, I don't know which part is real, and what is not true. I research of course, but I'm not sure. How can I predict it?

My biggest fear, however.. all the possibilities hint at much strife for the people I care about, and I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to protect or save everyone from the many fates I can sometimes glimpse."

At that admission, I worried at my lips. Naruto had furrowed brows, as if he contemplated the secret worriedly, and Sasuke watched my intently.

I clapped my hands, startling both of them. "Okay! Who wants to go next?" I said in false cheer.

After a moment of awkward silence, Sasuke nodded once, ever so slightly, in decision.

"I will."


	9. Chapter 8

**_A.N. Augh. Its ridiculously hard to write a character pinpointing your own flaws. ._._**

**_This chapter is longer, and has some random insight that came to mind and has absolutely little to no relevance in the future. _**

**_I thought you might find it interesting :D_**

**Ch. 8**

Sasuke gave me a long look, measuring what he wanted to say.

"The bad side of you, Jeshi, is that you are quick to jump to conclusions, as you say, in high adrenaline situations. You get defensive far too quickly; You ostracized the entire classroom in one moment, and refused to give much of the class a second chance. The decision was final, far too soon," Sasuke said finally.

"But the good side is that even when you actively dislike a person, you will still go out of your way to help them," Sasuke added. "When Ami-san broke her arm after a spar, and couldn't pick up or carry her books, I saw how you rushed to help her in the hall."

Naruto openly gaped. "Really? But Ami is such a jerk, bullying Sakura-chan all the time like that!"

I shrugged and smiled. "Ami is a young lady who over-compensates with bullying so she feels better about the fact.. well I won't go into personal details but she's insecure and trying to seem tough. She's changed now, you know?"

Naruto became quiet and introspective.

I wasn't lying either. It was the Aburame way to scout potential allies and enemies; Aburame were usually just too apathetic to do anything with the information that they deemed irrelevant. Social niceties and caring, in the conventional way, was often discarded. If it wasn't "For the good of the hive" it was not utilized.

Hikachi Ami came from as close to a blue blood as merchant civilians get. The fact that her mother and father had squandered away their extensive heritage and fortune was unfortunate for the girl;

She was a pretty child with the potential to grow into a beautiful woman. So with an insane bridal price offered, Ami was set into an arranged marriage; With Gato of all people!

The only potential save was if Ami could become a ninja. Such a thing would boost the Hikachi family reputation, and citing loyalty to the village, and her position of an adult, she would be able to dissolve the arrangement with Gato.

But she didn't have the ability to kill, or the sponge like memory of Sakura, whom she loathed for that very potential. What she did have, was an amazing chakra control and a natural bedside manner, having grown into herself, tending the scrapes of the younger academy students.

So through clan connections, I passed a message to the head of the hospital. Medic nins were in short supply, since the position was not as glorified as combat and infiltration, the training wasn't as rewarding, and they would essentially fade into the background. This recommendation would still gain her the adult status and ability to decide her own fate, if she took it.

Ami had already been approached for training, and with a subtle pre-exam and transfer out of our class, she was already well on her way to becoming a medic nin. The marriage was off, although Gato did not know this, for he had stifled his own communication lines as much as any import/export to wave.

Her parents were completely unable to oppose this; with the Aburame stamp of approval, in the merchant circles she was untouchable. No merchant with any sense, and in the know about the true base of the Aburame, would go against us now. As foolhardy as the Hikachi clan head was, he wasn't about to try to suicide his reputation any further.

All this passed through my brain in moments, the hive processing the input quickly. Sasuke then turned a cold gaze to Naruto, and the chilled expression thawed and softened before quickly going shuttered, unwilling to show any weakness.


End file.
